Shepherdstown, WV--Shepherd University's Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra's Stephen Czarkowski, cellist, and Dr. Scott Beard, pianist, will perform Beethoven's Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 5 No. 2 in G minor and Frédéric Chopin's Sonata, Op. 65 for cello and piano on Thursday, November 15 at 8 p.m. in the Walker Horton Shipley Recital Hall in the Frank Center. This is the third performance in the salon series. Admission is free, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

As members of the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra, Czarkowski and Beard have performed chamber music concerts throughout the region. Their programs for strings, piano, and winds have featured music from Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, and Piazzolla. Beethoven's cello sonatas Opus 5 are dedicated to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II. The sonata by Chopin was written in 1846 and is one of only nine works published during his lifetime that were written for instruments other than piano.

Professor of cello at Shepherd, Czarkowski is also on the cello and conducting faculty of Landon School, Bullis School, and Montgomery College. He is principal cellist (Jim and Linda Walker Chair) of the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra and shares conducting duties with the Preparatory Orchestra at Shepherd. He graduated from the Catholic University of America with a graduate artist diploma in orchestral conducting. Czarkowski received his bachelor of music degree from the Mannes College, the New School for Music. He is an active member of the Conductors Guild and serves on the board of directors. Czarkowski serves as assistant conductor of the Opera Camerata of Washington, D.C., as well as orchestra personnel manager and principal cellist. He is conductor of the Apollo Chamber Orchestra and the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra. Czarkowski led the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., as a debut conductor, in conjunction with being selected for the 2003 National Conducting Institute.

Beard, dean of graduate studies and continuing education and professor of music at Shepherd, was named 2006 West Virginia Music Teacher of the Year. Concerts as a chamber musician and orchestral soloist have taken Beard throughout the United States, Canada, and France. Recital and lecture appearances include Weill Recital Hall, World Piano Pedagogy Conference, the Tenri Cultural Institute, the Polish Embassy, the Russian Cultural Institute, conference artist for the Virginia Music Teachers' Association, and MTNA organizations throughout the East Coast. Orchestral appearances have included performances with the Georgetown, Southern Arizona, York, Richmond Philharmonic, Friday Morning Music Club, and NOI Symphony Orchestras. Beard's Canadian debut was well received by critics and audiences, and his concerts have been praised for their poetry, passion, and innovative programming.